WEARABLES FOR BETTER BALL CONTROL

If you’re a keen golfer or tennis player then you’ll know there’s always room for improvement. But if you can’t afford professional coaching, how will you ever know which parts of your game you need to work on?

These days you have some impressive technology you can call upon – and Zepp wearable motion sensors for tennis and golf claim to be the next best thing to hiring a professional coach. We braved the winter weather to put them through their paces, and they impressed us quite a bit. Here’s the lowdown on them:

The Zepp Tennis 3D Motion Sensor attaches easily to your tennis racket. The app (iOS and Android compatible) was quick and easy to download and setup on our smartphone, and it synced easily with the motion sensor via Bluetooth.

TRACK YOUR TYPES OF SHOT

Zepp Tennis gives you a full breakdown of the number and type of shots you hit in a match, which includes serves, forehands, backhand and the occasional smash if you manage to make one (we didn’t). You can also view the type of spin that you’re putting on each type of shot (topspin, slice and flat), and even measure if the ball is hitting the ‘sweet spot’ on your racket.

HOW HARD DO YOU HIT?

Zepp Tennis tracks the power you generate for each shot, and allows you to view the info in graph form to see how well you perform over the course of a match. You can also see which shots are your strongest. For the record, The Lowdown’s backhand is worryingly weak. And our serve isn’t much better either.

LEARN AND IMPROVE…

We think that the Zepp Tennis has a lot to offer the budding Murrays and Sharapovas out there. For instant feedback on how cleanly you’re hitting the ball – and the type of shots you’re struggling with – it’s hard to beat. And if you want to work on your power, you can easily track whether you’re improving over time.

The Zepp Golf 3D Motion Sensor clipped easily to the back of our golf glove. We quickly downloaded the app (iOS and Android compatible) synced it with the motion sensor via Bluetooth and in no time at all, we were ready to tee off.

IT’S ALL IN THE SWING

After each shot you can view your swing in 3D from any angle, and see for yourself how your backswing compares with your downswing. The sensor will also measure the position of your club shaft at the top of your backswing, giving you the chance to work on achieving the perfect angle.

CHECK YOUR SPEED

Zepp Golf measures how fast your hands and club head are moving as you strike the ball, to give you an idea of how powerful a hitter you actually are. There’s also a tempo monitoring feature that calculates the time ratio between your backswing and downswing, so you can work towards that ideal 3:1 figure.

WORK ON YOUR HANDICAP

When your round of golf is complete and you’re safely back in the clubhouse, Zepp Golf will help you analyse the strengths and weaknesses of your swing, and take the necessary steps to improve.
We really enjoyed using the Zepp Golf 3D Motion Sensor, but it’s worth remembering that it’s all about your swing, so it doesn’t track things like the direction or distance that the ball travels. So if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got some stray golf balls to search for…

Have you tried out any of these Zepp products? If so, did it improve your game? Would you recommend any other wearables or apps for tennis or golf? Feel free to comment below.